This year for Thanksgiving I have the challenge of making our normal Thanksgiving feast gluten free. After talking to my husband and kids about what they want to eat I discovered there were only a couple things that would need a gluten free makeover. The stuffing, corn casserole and any baked goods like pies. The stuffing is the easiest makeover as it will be made using gluten free bread instead of regular bread. The corn casserole and pies, well more so the pie crust would be a bit more tricky but I felt I could do it. I chose to tackle the corn casserole first and save pie crust for another day.

I have been making corn casserole for years. I cannot even tell you how many years ago I started making it. I can tell you it all started after watching Paula Dean on Food Network. It looked good and it was easy to make. One of the key components of the recipe was Jiffy corn muffin mix. This is where my gluten problem is. I needed to figure out how to make the recipe without the Jiffy corn muffin mix. Well, lucky for me I saw an article on Buzzfeedabout how to make your own DIY mixes and as luck would have it Jiffy corn muffin mix was on the list. I then checked on Google and found multiple other websites with similar DIY recipes. I figured I could convert those recipes to gluten free and test things out. It seemed to easy to me but I did and it worked! My kids were none the wiser and gobbled up my test run of Gluten Free Corn Casserole.

I can’t wait until Thanksgiving now to see what the rest of my family thinks. I wonder if they will be able to tell it is gluten free? Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

King Arthur’s is my favorite, too, as it basically works cup for cup in almost all recipes. I’ve stopped using xanthum gum, use a T of organic cornstarch, and it works well. My only concern/complaint about KA GF flour is that it is not organic. Only non-organic item we buy (no processed mixes.) They make organic wheat flour, so why not organic GF flour?

Gluten sensitivity means that gluten can and will affect her gut and possibly other organs. In many ways, it is more dangerous than a Celiac diagnosis (which is often difficult to detect–mine was found during an endoscopy for something else.) Many people have 10-12 endoscopic exams before it is found. Please take it seriously. The latest thought is more people die from a “sensitivity ” diagnosis than a Celiac diagnosis. If one’s not sure, the temptation to eat “just a little” gluten is much greater. Celiac can attack any organ or the blood. If she has been allergy tested, and wheat is a high allergen, assume she should avoid all gluten. Wheat, rye, and barley were discovered in the 1940’s, and are still the standard today. But many grain proteins are a problem, as well as malt. Start with one GF food, see how it is tolerated, then add another. I buy Gluten Free Organic Oats, but many Celiacs are sensitive to oats. Fermented foods, high quality probiotics, yogurt if she can tolerate dairy–those will help heal the gut. To be safe, treat her as if she has a Celiac diagnosis. She may, but it hasn’t been found. See if her symptoms get better! This needs to be a whole family endeavor. We got a new toaster oven, crock pot, etc. and scrubbed everything that we couldn’t replace that might harbor crumbs. With practice, you can make GF taste as good as things with gluten. Xanthum gum is available at any health food store, and is supposed to keep things from being crumbly, but we did not like it. Except for cornbread, I let all breads, cookie mixes I make, sit in the fridge overnight. That seems to help. Best of luck–and please take it seriously. The only treatment is diet, but it can be deadly.